F1 Australian GP: Hamilton trounces Rosberg for pole

Lewis Hamilton qualified his Mercedes W06 Hybrid on pole position for the season-opening Australian F1 Grand Prix on Saturday, beating teammate Nico Rosberg by six tenths of a second.

Having trailed Rosberg in both practice sessions on Friday, Hamilton swinged the pendulum towards his favour today, with fastest laps in both FP3 and qualifying.

During his first run in Q3, Hamilton laid the benchmark with 1:26.419 while Rosberg went wide on the grass, ruining his lap. Rosberg tried his best on his next run, but couldn’t upset the Brit who went even quicker with a 1:26.327.

Away from the intra-Mercedes battle for pole position, Felipe Massa qualified in third place, 1.5 seconds slower than the quickest time of the session. Valtteri Bottas would have liked to qualify alongside his Williams teammate on the second row of the grid had it not been but a few costly mistakes. He lines up in sixth place for tomorrow’s race.

The two Ferraris were sandwiched between the Williams with new recruit and former four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel leading 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen by just four hundredths of a second. However, the fact that Vettel was on a used set of tyres during his final run means Raikkonen is yet to find his old pace.

Daniel Ricciardo could only manage 7th at home turf having struggled with poor drivability of the Renault power unit all weekend. His teammate Daniil Kvyat couldn’t even make it into Q3 and starts his first race as a Red Bull driver from 13th.

In stark contrast, Toro Rosso - with by far the youngest F1 driver line up - exceeded expectations with Carlos Sainz Jr qualifying just two tenths behind Ricciardo and Max Verstappen outqualifying Kyvat for 12th spot on the grid.

The two Lotuses would also be fairly satisfied with how things panned out in Melbourne with both Grosjean and Maldonado making it into Q3. This time last year, they occupied the last two spots on the grid(before being forced to start from the pitalne).

The Force Indias of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez would be fairly satisfied with 14th and 15th in qualifying, considering how things went for them in pre-season testing. The VJM08 and the Mercedes power unit make for a reliable package. All they need is a bit more pace.

Saubers had a mixed day with Felipe Nasr just missing out in Q3 and Marcus Ericsson relegated during the first leg of the session. Questions are likely to be raised about the latter’s performance, considering he has a season’s worth experience under his belt.

And finally, McLaren couldn't avoid the ignominy of qualifying on the last row of the grid as drivers Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen were impotent to the shortcomings of the MP4-30 and the Honda engines that sits on its back. It was the first time since Brazil 2009 that both McLarens were relegated in Q1 when treacherous and changing conditions left a number of teams languishing at the back of the grid.

Taking into account the variation in pace of soft and medium compounds, the 2015 McLaren is four seconds slower than pacesetters Mercedes.

F1 Australian Grand Prix - Qualifying Results

1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m 26.327s
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m 26.921s
3. Felipe Massa Williams 1m 27.718s
4. Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m 27.757s
5. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m 27.790s
6. Valtteri Bottas Williams 1m 28.087s
7. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1m 28.329s
8. Carlos Sainz Jr Toro Rosso 1m 28.510s
9. Romain Grosjean Lotus 1m 28.560s
10. Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1m 29.480s
11. Felipe Nasr Sauber 1m 28.800s
12. Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1m 28.868s
13. Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1m 29.070s
14. Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1m 29.208s
15. Sergio Perez Force India 1m 29.209s
16. Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1m 31.376s
17. Jenson Button McLaren 1m 31.422s
18. Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1m 32.037s